Kevin Vicuna scored three times and reached base four times Wednesday night.
The Vancouver Canadians got their measure of revenge against Henry Henry as they defeated the Tri-City Dust Devils 6-2 at Nat Bailey Stadium Wednesday. Henry had his way with the C’s with five shutout innings in Tri-City July 26 but that was not the case in the rematch.
Henry was opposed by Jose Espada and he sat down the Dust Devils in order to begin the game with two infield popups and a flyout. Henry handed out a leadoff walk to Reggie Pruitt in the home half of the first but Pruitt was thrown out trying to steal second by Chandler Seagle. That caught stealing would really hurt when Kevin Vicuna singled to right and Logan Warmoth doubled to center to put two runners in scoring position. Kacy Clemens delivered an RBI single to left to score Vicuna with the game’s first run but Vancouver could not add to their lead as David Jacob and Norberto Obeso struck out swinging and looking respectively.
Espada struck out Luis Ascunsion looking to begin the second in an eight pitch at-bat. Ascunsion got a reprieve when Obeso nearly caught a ball in foul territory down the left field line but he lost the handle on it when he crashed in the wall near the corner. Two pitches later, the game was tied when Justin Lopez homered to right. Luis Almanzar singled after two more pitches and made it to third on a Bryant Aragon single in a plate appearance that lasted 10 pitches. Seagle would knock home Almanzar by singling up the middle to give the Dust Devils a 2-1 lead. Espada was able to hold the line there by striking out Matthew Batten and getting Robbie Podorsky to fly out to left. Espada needed 32 pitches to get out of the second. Bobby Eveld was on stand-by warming up in the pen at that point.
Owen Spiwak flared a two-out hit in the bottom of the second that stayed fair near the left field line before Pruitt hit one right on the screws but he lined out to third.
Kelvin Melean worked Espada for an eight-pitch walk to open the top of the third and just when it looked like it was going to be another long half-inning, Tre Carter popped up to second first-pitch swinging before Asuncion grounded into an inning-ending 1-4-6-3 double play.
Bobby Eveld contributed two shutout innings of relief against the Dust Devils.
Vancouver went three-up, three-down in the third before Eveld entered the game in the fourth. He overcame a Lopez leadoff single and a one-out passed ball to prevent any further damage.
Owen Spiwak drove in the winning run against Tri-City Wednesday night.
Jacob got the C’s offence going in the bottom of the fourth with a double to right and moved up to second when Obeso reached on an error by Melean at second. Brock Lundquist would tie with a base hit to left to score Jacob. After Deiferson Barreto struck out, Spiwak came up with a base knock to right to drive in Obeso who beat the throw home with a slide to give Vancouver a 3-2 lead. Lundquist was able to make it to third and he tried to score on a Pruitt fly ball to shallow center but he was thrown out at the dish by Carter on an inning-ending double play.
The C’s were back up to bat quickly in the bottom of the fifth after Eveld retired the side in order in the top half of the frame, capping it off with Melean swinging at strike three. Vicuna singled to left and that was followed by walks to Warmoth and Clemens. Jacob scored Vicuna on a fielder’s choice at second to increase the Vancouver lead to 4-2. That was all they would get as Obeso hit into a 4-6-3 twin-killing.
Yonardo Herdenez shut out the Dust Devils for three innings Wednesday.
Yonardo Herdenez made quick work of the Dust Devils in the sixth by striking out Carter and Ascunsion swinging in a perfect frame. Dauris Alvarez wound up facing the minimum for Tri-City in the home half of the sixth. Barreto singled with one out but was thrown out stealing when Spiwak struck out swinging.
Herdenez sat down the first two hitters he faced in the seventh before walking Seagle and Batten. He would induce Podorsky to ground out to second to put up another zero on the scoreboard.
Kacy Clemens drove in three of Vancouver’s six runs Wednesday.
The C’s essentially put the game away thanks in part to the speed of Pruitt in the Vancouver seventh. He showcased his wheels by beating out a ground ball to third against Elias Torres. A base hit by Vicuna and a hit by pitch to Warmoth would load the bases for Clemens and he singled up the middle to score Pruitt and Vicuna. With Warmoth at third and Clemens moving to second, the C’s could not bring them home as Jacob struck out swinging and Obeso was caught looking before Lundquist grounded out to first.
Herdenez finished his night with his second clean inning, striking out the final two hitters he faced in Carter and Ascunsion as that duo went down swinging. Vancouver tried to cushion their lead when they loaded the bases against Austin Smith with one out on walks by Spiwak and Pruitt and a hit by pitch to Vicuna but Warmoth flied out to shallow center and Clemens grounded out to first.
Brayden Bouchey was given the ninth inning and he struck out Lopez swinging before Almanzar reached on an infield single to third as Barreto could not make a clean grab of the ball. Almanzar swiped second but Bouchey got Aragon looking before getting Seager to ground out to third for the game-ending out.
Radar Gun Rundown
Espada’s range of pitches was from 80-82 and 90-92 miles per hour with a high of 95. His two strikeouts were at 92 and 91 miles per hour.
Eveld was throwing 93-95 while Herdenez clocked in from 74-89 with his strikeouts at 88, 86, 87 and 74. Bouchey had strikeouts at 76 and 90, touching as high as 92.
C-Notes
Vancouver had 19 baserunners in this one thanks to 12 hits, five walks and two hit by pitches. Vicuna was 3-for-4 with a hit by pitch and scored three times. Clemens and Spiwak had two hits and a walk apiece with Clemens collecting three of the four RBI between them. Pruitt singled and walked twice while Warmoth got on base with a hit, a walk and a plunk. The C’s were 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position with 10 men left on base.
Espada gave up two runs over three frames on four hits (including a homer) and a walk but struck out a pair. Eveld earned the win to go to 2-0 with just one hit allowed and one strikeout over two innings. Herdenez struck out four and walked two over three scoreless, hitless innings. Bouchey struck out a pair in a one-hit ninth. The C’s quartet of hurlers limited the Dust Devils to six hits while posting a combined K/BB total of 9-3.
Congratulations to 2012 C’s righthander Taylor Cole for making his major league debut for the Toronto Blue Jays.
With one out in the 8th inning, Taylor Cole enters to make his MLB debut! pic.twitter.com/YVQe8E1pmO
— Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 10, 2017
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Taylor Cole catches Aaron Judge swinging for his first Major League strikeout. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/fYGg7tp4XI
— Andrew Hockridge (@drewhockridge) August 10, 2017
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Cole’s 2012 C’s teammate Carlos Ramirez had a nice debut with the Buffalo Bisons.
Carlos Ramirez with an impressive Triple-A debut. Heavy fastball, nasty hook. Fanned four of six in two perfect innings. #bluejays #bisons
— Ben Wagner (@benwag247) August 9, 2017
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
A pair of 2015 C’s were the top performers for Dunedin in July.
Congrats to the Blue Jays July Players of the Month!
Josh DeGraaf: 3-1, 6 GS, 37.0 IP, 1.70 ERA
Connor Panas: .352 AVG, 6 HR, 23 RBI pic.twitter.com/31U2fYoRTv— Dunedin Blue Jays (@DunedinBlueJays) August 9, 2017
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Connor Panas has been crushing it with the D-Jays.
Since Canada Day, Toronto native Connor Panas has hit .348/.430/.644 with 9 HR, 19 extra base hits, and 32 RBI. 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/ejPh6QF0X4
— Dunedin Blue Jays (@DunedinBlueJays) August 9, 2017
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
2012 C’s outfielder D.J. Davis had a huge night for Dunedin.
#Bluejays prospect DJ Davis with a huge night for @DunedinBlueJays 3-4, dbl, HR, 4 runs, 4 RBI, 2 BB and his 30SB of the season. #MiLB #MLB
— Marc Westy Nolan (@MarcWestyNolan) August 10, 2017
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
C’s Fast Forward
David Jacob (#23) and Justin Dillon (#22) join the handshake line after Wednesday’s win over Tri-City.
The C’s wrap up their three-game set against Tri-City Thursday afternoon at 1:05 pm at The Nat. That game can be heard on CanadiansBaseball.com and TSN Radio. Justin Dillon is listed as the probable starter.
Vancouver is 7-7 in the second half and share an identical overall record with Tri-City at 28-24. Spokane leads the North at 9-5 with Tri-City at 8-6. The C’s are tied with Everett who have also sawed off their first 14 games of the second half.
C's Plus Baseball | A Vancouver Canadians Blog 